The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $106,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $132.94 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.22 and a 12-month high of $209.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 74.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.18.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.92.

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.